


Just Go With It

by rainbowslovehl (Larrymateforlife)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Grocery Store, Awkward Flirting, Awkward Harry, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, Misunderstandings, that's also a tag wow, wow that's a tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-06
Updated: 2019-03-06
Packaged: 2019-11-13 01:56:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18022637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Larrymateforlife/pseuds/rainbowslovehl
Summary: “Brett, there’s something I need to tell you,” he started, inwardly cringing at his choice of words before taking in a deep breath. Brett seemed curious, raising her eyebrows expectantly. “The reason I haven’t been texting you back is that...”“Harry, they were all out of organic guacamole,” a raspy, unfamiliar male voice interrupted, startling him into silence. “So I got us the normal one. Hope that’s alright?”Harry has no idea how to escape awkward situation but luckily for him, Louis swoops in to help.





	Just Go With It

**Author's Note:**

> Okay um, I have been going through a serious writer's block where I can't finish any fic I start with. Hence I decided to write a short fic and luckily, it's finished in just three days so yay me. It is based on this idea I had in my head and it sort of of spiraled off but basically, I wanted to write an au where Louis helps Harry out of a sticky situation by pretending to be his boyfriend hence here we are.  
> I would like to say a big thank you to my beta and friend, Helena who encouraged me to finish and was patient with me.  
> If there are any mistakes, I blame myself for not enough research. I've never been inside Tesco but I hope I'm not too off.  
> Hope you all enjoy it!

 

Harry pushed the trolley ahead of him, choosing to meander into the produce aisle. He was pretty sure that they didn’t especially need anything from this section but still he stopped. Absently massaging the back of his neck, he pulled out the list that Niall had compiled and scanned it, finding that he indeed was right. But glancing up once again, he couldn’t resist the pull to buy at least one fruit and by that meant a dozen fresh, red apples. Looking at them, he felt like baking an apple pie. And what better way to spend an afternoon than baking pies. It would be a nice end to his currently not-so-good morning.

Harry had a theory that the way one’s day started was a good indication to how their day would end. Of course he had tried, tested, and debunked the theory plenty times but he still believed. And up until now, his day had not been great at all. He had woken up with a crick in his neck and as he sat up, his back ached in protest as well. It was a result of spending another night sleeping on the couch instead of his more comfortable bed. But in his defence, Harry was really sleepy after watching a movie the night before and their new couch was really comfy and big enough to fit all of him. If at all, it was his friend and flatmate, Niall’s fault who had been insistent on buying that very soft, L-shaped couch. He had said it was something that they absolutely needed and Harry didn’t want to protest him then. And even this morning, it was Niall who had decided that shaking Harry out of sleep instead of being gentle was the way to go. Not only had he scared ten years off his life, he had also reminded him unhelpfully how Harry had no choice but to replenish their exhausted groceries. And he had to do it that morning, not postpone it anymore. Niall had been right of course, Harry knew, but he could have picked a better time and way to go about it yeah.

After that, yeah maybe it was Harry’s fault when he thought it would be a good idea to get off the couch in a ‘cool way’. Which meant that basically, he would roll off the couch and deftly land on his feet as he had seen Niall do countless times. But then, Harry forgot that he was as clumsy as they came and fell flat on his face, making pain mount in his neck. He just lied there, groaning and revelling in his humiliation and pain until the smell of food wafting from the kitchen made him sit up.

Breakfast eased his pain but just a little. Then he was almost pushed out of his flat by a grinning, unapologetic Niall.

Hence there Harry was, in Tesco, grocery shopping at ten in the morning on a Sunday while berating himself. If only he hadn’t procrastinated so much, he could have slept in until noon. Sure, he would have woken up with a worse back but it still would have been worth it. Sighing, Harry glanced once more at the shopping list and frowned before stuffing it back into his hoodie pocket. Niall might be strict and precise with their list but he wasn’t the only one cooking in the flat so it didn’t matter very much. Besides, Harry was spending the money so he should be allowed a choice.

As Harry was picking out the apples, he heard a laugh that made him freeze. He should not be able to recognise it, but he did, picking out the unmistakable shrillness and pitch. It sent a wave of a panic through him and he almost leaped to hide behind the apples. That would be, ironically, fruitless so he didn’t. He just turned as slowly and quietly as he could and sure enough, there she was. The blonde woman was stood far away that she hadn’t noticed him yet and was on the phone. She was sufficiently distracted, enough for Harry to escape. Chances were slim that he would be able to walk out of the store without alerting her entirely but he surely would try his level best so. Without a second’s hesitation, Harry grabbed his trolley and tried manoeuvring it away blindly. But in a truly Harry fashion, he managed to crash his trolley and knock some apples to the floor.

“Fucking hell,” he muttered under his breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. The damage was done, since he managed to create quite a bit of commotion. There was no way he hadn’t been spotted yet so might as well spend a little time fixing the mess he made. He crouched on the floor and collected the scatter fruits and berated himself further. He had no doubt that his face might be just as red as the apples he held. It was a great, great morning.

“Harry? Is that you?”

Great, Harry thought and held in his resigned sigh. As expected, he had been spotted by the very person he was trying to avoid. Frowning at his traitorous trolley, he rose up to his full height and dropped a few apples into it. After he had placed the rest onto the pile, he turned around with a deviously wide smile on his face. The blonde woman from earlier was now walking towards him with a genuine smile, trolley abandoned behind her. It was obvious that she was purposely swaying her hips and fixing her hair on her way over to him.

“I did not expect to see you here today,” she continued when Harry didn’t immediately respond, eyebrows rising in obvious amusement. She gave Harry an obvious onceover and her smile widened. She was immaculately dressed for a short trip to Tesco while Harry was obviously not. He hadn’t expected to run into anyone familiar so he had thrown on a pair of simply joggers along with his favourite grey hoodie. His hair was left un-styled and messy, but as he had said, he didn’t expect to run into anyone. Much less _her_. As compared to her, Harry suddenly felt conscious of himself. “It’s been ages since that night. It’s strange to find you here of all placed in London. What are the odds, huh?”

Probably not in his favour, Harry thought while chuckling along. “It is such a surprise, yes. I don’t even live in this neighbourhood. Just crashing at a friend’s place.”

“Friend’s place, alright,” she said with a nod, not at all suspicious of his lie. She did not pick up on his wariness at all, but from what he gathered about her from one meeting, she wasn’t the best at picking up on non-verbal hints. Subtlety just did not work on her, no matter how much he tried. And saying outright was not one of his skills so. “I was a little worried when you didn’t text me. Did you get my texts at all?”

“I didn’t see them, actually,” Harry lied through his teeth while taking a cautious step back when her fingers reached towards him. The movement didn’t deter her in the least, of course, as she smiled on obliviously. “I have been absolutely swamped at work so didn’t get a chance to see.”

The second part of a sentence wasn’t a total lie. Harry was swamped at work for the past week. He hadn’t really read the texts even. In fact, he had forgotten about her existence at all. And the reasons he stated weren’t the reason why he hadn’t texted her back yet.

It was over a month ago that Harry had been forced to go this particular blind date. He was vehemently against it, saying he didn’t need to be set up. But his co-worker was equally as insistent, while apparently also unaware that Harry wasn’t really into women. Harry just been told that he would ‘love Brett’ with a mysterious wink and that was all. it was natural that he assumed this ‘Brett’ to be a man since it was a traditionally masculine name; it didn’t even occur to him that it would short for something or a result of those strange new naming trends. When a blonde woman with no gaydar who called herself Brett (short for Bretta, named after her father) showed up, Harry was at a loss. On one hand, he was happy that she was unassuming and not basing his sexuality on stereotypes. But also, she did not pick up on the various clues Harry dropped, hinting at the fact that he was gay. She was a perfectly nice woman and would be perfect for him (she did work with kids), except that he was not attracted to her.

Brett was obviously smitten with him and Harry didn’t know how to tell her that he was gay. So he took the coward’s way out and decided against it, telling her he had a good time and never replied to her texts. It was a dick move, yes and he felt very guilty too. Harry did complain to his co-worker, who promised to never force anything on him. And then relayed the entire incident to Niall, who had collapsed on the floor of this very store, laughing. He had caused a scene, unable to stop laughing and Harry decided not to meet anyone’s eyes and pretend he didn’t know Niall. But yeah, that date was one of the most awkward and embarrassing ones he had been on in his entire life.

Naively, he had assumed that that would be the end of the incident. But nope, Harry’s luck was just that disastrous and he had encountered Brett now. He was completely clueless as to how to escape this situation. He wished for the floor to swallow him up right that second or to be blessed with a guardian angel. But none of that happened so.

“I did assume you might be busy,” Brett said and nodded her head gravely. She had genuinely bought one of Harry’s weak excuses. He felt sorry for her, he really did. But at that moment, he was feeling sorrier for himself. “I love my job, I love working as a primary teacher but no one tells you how exhausting everything else is. I mean planning activities are tiresome but the smiles on their faces, maybe it makes everything worthy. Thankfully, yoga is stress relieving otherwise I don’t know what I would do. And oh, you seem to be working out too.”

Harry should have seen it coming earlier, and yet, he jerked back when her fingers squeezed his bicep. Yes, he went to the gym thrice a week but she knew that from their ‘date’. It wasn’t a hint to make her touch his arm. Again. Brett picked up on all the wrong hints for sure. Harry took a cautionary step back and the back of his foot collided into his trolley. He winced and cursed his luck, gaze travelling and settling on a spot over Brett’s shoulder. And that's when he saw him, the familiar, gorgeous stranger that was present frequently at the same time as he was. Harry might even harbour a small crush on him.

Harry’s heart sped of its own accord when the stranger happened to look right at him just that second. The man’s eyebrows wiggled, gaze darting between him and Brett, whose palm still resting on his arm. He then cocked his head to the side in question and it was as if understood Harry’s predicament completely well. Gosh, Harry hoped he didn’t think he was straight. He took another step back that made Brett’s palm drop and then looked back at the gorgeous stranger, whose lips were quirked. It was exhilarating, finally being noticed by the bloke he had a crush on but it certainly wasn’t the best circumstance to be noticed in. he surely would get the wrong impression of Harry and that would be the worst thing.

A beat passed where the man stared back but then he looked away, grabbing his almost completely empty trolley and moving in the opposite way. Harry’s heart did not sink as he watched him leave, it did not.

“...and that was hilarious,” Brett was saying and Harry was completely unaware that he had zoned out. But as she laughed, he chuckled along and pretended he was listening all along. And honestly, he was a bad human. He rubbed the back of his neck absently, a little unnerved by her expectant, unwavering eyes. There was no way out of it, he realised. Either he invented a brilliant excuse or settle for telling her the truth. Harry wasn’t the best at inventing brilliant lies on spot so... awkwardly telling the truth it was. How fun.

“Brett, there’s something I need to tell you,” he started, inwardly cringing at his choice of words before taking in a deep breath. Brett seemed curious, raising her eyebrows expectantly. “The reason I haven’t been texting you back is that...”

“Harry, they were all out of organic guacamole,” a raspy, unfamiliar male voice interrupted, startling him into silence. He could hear footsteps draw closer, or he might be imagining it but the person behind him was walking towards him. “So I got us the normal one. Hope that’s alright?”

Harry turned on his heel, a frown forming between his eyebrows but when he saw him, he froze for the second time in the past hour. It was the gorgeous man from earlier that had spoken and walking closer as well (now sans trolley), while holding a small packet in his hand. Harry didn’t even have time to freak out about the fact that the man knew his name. Much less about what this man shopping with him – while wearing an outfit akin to Harry – implied. He was busy taking in the man drawing closer, eyebrows raised questioningly with his head tilted to the side. His blue eyes were twinkling knowingly and hinting something. Unlike Brett, Harry was great at picking on subtlety. He might not have exchanged a word with the man before this but he understood. He had to _just go with it_.

“I honestly don’t think it will make much of a difference,” the man continued when all Harry did was gawk at him, looking unbothered. He dropped the packet in the trolley, stopping two steps away from him and looking radiant. Or maybe Harry was just mesmerised and anxious he was dreaming this all up. Even if the pain in his neck reminded him otherwise. “I honestly don’t think it would make much of a difference. But in my personal experience, the normal one tastes better than the ‘healthier’ alternative. The normal one might not be as healthy, but who cares when they taste twice as incredible.”

“I guess you’re right,” Harry agreed faintly and the fact that he had spoken was a wonder in itself. He remembered this conversation because the words were more or less what Harry had said to Niall. It was just last week when Harry had gotten into an argument with Niall, and he was not aware they had been that loud. He wondered just how loud he was when in the store, and blushed which made the man’s smile widen. Harry probably left the worst first impressions on people. His breath caught in his throat when the man, slowly but determinedly, reached for his hand and tangled their fingers together. He was in the danger of hyperventilating. He was so glad to be turned away from Brett, but then he doubted if she found anything amiss too. “But how would I know that you didn’t merely pick the first one you saw. I know you hate organic food because of your misplaced annoyance at ‘millennial’ gimmicks. As if you’re not a millennial yourself.”

Harry was surprised his voice wasn’t shaky and it might be because he was repeating the words that he unintentionally remembered due to the various times he had heard it. Niall gave this speech each time. Harry’s nerves lightened when the man in front of him laughed, head thrown back as if he found it genuinely amusing. At the same time, Harry felt the man squeeze his hand in reassurance. It was possible that Harry was in love already.

“The next thing I know, you’ll start liking low-fat ice cream and that would be it,” the man said, taking it in a stride. He made a dour face, as if the idea of that was actually dreadful for him. Harry was enamoured by his acting skills, he won’t lie. “I’ve known you two weeks but I have known ice cream my whole life, and it is an item of comfort for me. I am not switching to low fat. My tub of ice cream and I are very happy and I won’t let you break us up. I’m also not keen to let you go of you yet.”

Harry opened his mouth only to make no sound. It was perfect. Whatever this man had said was perfectly fitted to the narrative in which Harry didn’t betray Brett’s trust. And he voiced the exact same opinions as Harry would. He squeezed the man’s hand and hoped that it conveyed his gratitude. And adoration too. “I don’t want to leave you either.”

“Good,” he said and gave him a toothy grin. He was gorgeous and perfect and Harry felt like an utter fool, wordless. As if sensing his distress, the man looked right at Brett, who no doubt was thrown by their interaction yet was quiet. Harry turned around sheepishly in time to catch her perplexed look. “And hello there, I don’t think we’ve met? I’m Louis, Harry’s boyfriend.”

“Oh okay, hi, I’m Brett,” she said in a rush, eyes darting quickly between them as realisation dawned on her. Finally. Harry hoped he was smiling outwardly because on the inside, he was panicking. For one, he finally knew the beautiful stranger’s name and it was as beautiful as he was. And secondly, they were holding hands and Louis called him his boyfriend which yeah, was a charade. But his heart was never in possession of logic. Brett seemed flustered but laughing nevertheless, not looking the least bit disappointed. In fact, she looked relieved, as if it just made sense to her. Harry felt bad. “It was nice running into you, Harry and this _friend_ of yours is pretty nice too. You didn’t have to spare my feelings or anything, I’m aware I’m not good at picking hints. I apologise for that. But I do take it as a cue to leave so goodbye. You two look cute.”

And with a wink and a wave, she left, headed back towards her trolley. It was just that easy then, Harry thought and kicked himself mentally. Brett really was a great person. Harry was the idiot.

“Thank you for the compliment,” Louis exclaimed and when she turned, she laughed merrily before walking away with her trolley. Harry was still reeling from the incidents of the past few minutes and berating himself further on. He felt the loss of Louis’ hand within his, as the latter withdrew the moment she was out of sight. Louis didn’t move backwards, just smiled sheepishly at him. “If I crossed any boundaries I apologise, but otherwise, you’re so welcome.”

“Um, thank you?” Harry squeaked before clamping his hand over his mouth. This was the time his voice decided to not cooperate. Great. But Louis just cackled, not particularly at him, and his eyes crinkled in genuine amusement. So maybe, the embarrassment from earlier was worth it. All of a sudden he was aware of the dull ache in his neck and he massaged the spot while gathering himself. “But no, genuinely, I do want to thank you for earlier. You didn’t have to help me out but you did. I had no clue how to get out of that situation and was worried I would upset her or something. I praying for an angel to sweep me out of that situation and you swooped in. Oh god, look at me; I couldn’t utter a word a few minutes ago and now I am running out of breath explaining myself. This is so embarrassing I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry, we’ve all been in embarrassing situations sometime or the other,” Louis assured because he was an angel. And did Harry really call him an ‘angel’ when babbling nervously? Oh no. But he had no regrets because he meant it. “Those make the best stories; even they don’t seem that great then. God knows I’ve had my share of them. You’re lucky that I was present and just happened to remember enough of your conversations to pull it off successfully. Er, you know what, let’s just pretend I didn’t confess to you about being an intrusive, nosy person.”

Harry giggled before immediately covering his mouth to cut off the sound, eyes wide in embarrassment. The glee was due to the relief that came with realising that Louis wasn’t this cool and collected person Harry had made up in his head. It made talking with him a little easier. “At least you’re honest. Everyone is nosy, rarely people admit it. And in this case, I wouldn’t mind that habit because you just rescued me from a tight spot. I’m just worried about my voice and am rethinking the various conversations I’ve had in public. Many people might have heard me and pitied me. Like you. Oh well. But you’re great at acting, like um, earlier?”

“Oh thank you.” Louis grinned bashfully, pushing his fringe to the side. “I am an actor, actually so acting is basically my job. Before you ask, no I’m not famous and no, you might not have ever seen me. I work as an extra in movies. Few times I have dialogues but most of my scenes are a blink and miss.”

“Actor you say? Lucky me. Tell me more.”

Louis laughed, throwing his head back and Harry felt himself swoon. “That you are. And well, what can I say. I started acting at the age of twelve, where I was credited as the boy who finds the dead body. I had exactly one word to say – ‘look’.” He paused and pointed at the apples, face moulded into one of shock before it smoothed over. “It was great fun though, made me really sought after in my school.”

“Why am I not surprised by that?” Harry teased, eyebrows rising of their own accord. He could see why Louis would be ‘sought after’, as he so put it. He had endless charm, enough to make endearing even when flustered. He was good on the eyes as well, which would make a small part in a movie just a bonus. Luckily this time, Harry’s brain to mouth filter worked well enough to not make him voice it. But then, he did not know of anything else to say either. He was nervous and awkward and recollected nothing which would make an interesting conversation topic. Basically, he had to let Louis go. But there was a next time, a hopeful flutter in his heart said. This shouldn’t have to be their last conversation.

There was sound and Louis immediately reached into his pocket to draw out his phone. He frowned and sighed before looking up apologetically at Harry. “I hate to leave this conversation but it’s my sister. I was supposed to meet her for ‘brunch’, which honestly, I don’t get the point of. But sisters hate waiting so...”

Harry laughed, nodding empathetically as he buried his hands inside the pocket of his hoodie. “Oh I know how sisters can be, don’t worry. I wouldn’t want to waste any more of your time, Louis. But I will see you around?”

“Most definitely,” Louis answered with a beaming smile that made Harry’s stomach swoop. Well then. “It was nice finally talking to you though.”

“Same here.” Louis nodded once before talking slow steps backwards. Harry bit on his lip to stop his grin from overtaking his face and when the other finally turned around, he let himself grin properly. He ducked his head and scuffed the toe of his shoe against the floor.

Harry was feeling elated and downcast at once, letting out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding. The corners of his lips turned down and he pouted at nothing. On one hand, they had finally talked but on the other, they hadn’t talked much. For one, he didn’t know when he would talk to Louis again. “Why couldn’t I have just asked for his number,” he whispered before smacking his forehead. “Why couldn’t I have had said something charming that made him want to approach me again? I’m such an idiot. The kind that talks to himself out loud in the middle of Tesco. People must think I’m mad.”

Harry heaved a pained sigh and looked out, finding himself thankfully alone in the aisle. There was no one to witness his embarrassing moments except for himself, who will surely replay it again. Think positive, he told himself, as he pushed himself and his trolley towards the checkout. He knew that he had completed the list but even if he hadn’t, it wouldn’t matter. He needed to get home quick, so he could bury his head in the comforts of his couch and cry.

It was only when he was paying that he realised he hadn’t taken out the packet of guacamole. Niall was sure to throw a fit over it but Harry didn’t have the heart to take it out either. He smiled as he glanced at it and impulsively, looked over his shoulder. To his surprise, Louis was looking right at him again and waved. Harry blushed as he waved back and quickly hurried out, grinning to himself on the way back home.

Niall was waiting for him, throwing question at Harry, which he ignored. He merely handed him the bags and walked past him to collapse face first onto the couch. The very couch that had given him pain this morning, gave him comfort this time. Well, the pain in his neck hadn’t subsided and flared up from the position he was in, but he was alright. It was alright. Right now, he wanted to be dramatic.

“Alright out with it, why are you being dramatic?” Niall asked after waiting for five minutes for Harry to speak. The curiosity was evident in his voice and so was the weary but when Harry made a strangled sound, he sighed. “It took you more than half an hour to return from the store, which is fifteen minutes more than usual. So I’m assuming that something has definitely happened. Either you willingly tell me now or I’ll force it out of you later.”

“I’ll tell you later,” Harry grumbled, after lifting his head enough to be audible. Niall hummed and carried the bags to the kitchen. Harry’s ‘later’ meant in about five more minutes, when Niall would no doubt run out of the kitchen in the flurry after going through the contents of the bag. And sure enough, about two hundred seconds later...

“You better have a good fucking reason to bring this abomination into our home,” Niall exclaimed dramatically as he marched out of the kitchen. Harry turned his head and found his very livid flatmate holding the packet of guacamole. He huffed and turned properly onto his side while Niall continued glaring. “You know my thoughts about... well this. You know how much I dislike it. Then why have you wasted so much money on something that we won’t eat. Does this seem funny? Because it’s not funny.”

“I didn’t mean to actually buy it,” Harry protested weakly before the fight drained out of him and he curled into himself. Burying his face in his hands, he peeked at his friend from the gaps of his fingers. Niall looked less angry now, and all the more confused. “I sort of forgot it was in my trolley until late. It’s kind of a long story.”

“And it is an idle Sunday morning,” Niall countered, giving the packet a withering look before placing it on the coffee table. He poked at Harry’s ribs until he uncurled and sat up, giving Niall a scowl as he did. He did want to sit up, at all. “We have all the time in the world, so by all means explain the packet of normal guacamole, which is garbage. Explain your weird behaviour too.”

Harry huffed, closing his eyes and letting his head rest against the cushions. “So it all started when I stopped for some apples...”

And then Harry relayed the whole story without opening his eyes. He did not want to look at Niall’s amusement grow by the minute, only glared when his friend started laughing. The laughter was offending him but then, Harry knew that he would laugh too if it had happened to anyone but him. So he didn’t push his friend off the couch like he wanted to, but he did smack his arm.

“This is exactly why I hate you,” Harry hissed at his friend, crossing his arms before huffing. Niall immediately sobered up at that, cooing at Harry and pinching his cheeks like an annoying friend. Harry patted off his friend’s attempts before shielding his face behind his hands. “Just talking about it reminds me how much of an embarrassing fool I was. If I had just cleared everything with Brett like a proper function person, Louis wouldn’t have to intervene and save me. Sure I also wouldn’t have learnt Louis’ name or talked to him, but what good did it do to me. This day can’t get any worse.”

“Hey no, don’t say that, Harry.” it took Niall a few tried but he did manage to coax Harry into lowering his palms. He always knew how to convince Harry to do things his way and it was the most annoying trait of his. “In all honesty, it could be a lot worse.”

“That was really comforting, thanks Niall.”

Niall sighed. “I’m getting to it, okay, keep some patience. So as I was saying, it could be a lot worse. But you’re choosing to focus on only the negatives. He talked to you. He had been listening to our conversations and remembering them, which clearly meant he is at least a little interested in knowing you. He was also nervous and flustered, which he wouldn’t be if he didn’t like you back, right? So don’t be your usual dramatic self and dismiss all the important, positive bits. It’s not a good habit.”

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled, before slowly exhaling. As Niall’s words settled in, Harry realised it made sense. Maybe he was being overly dramatic. “You’re right. Maybe he does like me, at least as a person. So the next time I see him...”

“I will push him in his direction and force you to interact,” Niall concluded, eyebrows raised teasingly. When Harry glared, he laughed boisterously. Patting his knee twice, Niall stood up and gave the packet of guacamole a sour look. “You’re eating that; I’m not touching it. Oh and please return me the grocery list. I need to go through it and see how much extra items you bought impulsively and budget accordingly.”

“It was just the apples this time,” Harry griped but in his heart, he knew that if he hadn’t been interrupted, he would have bought something more. Maybe he did need to limit himself. He reached into his hoodie pocket to remove the crumbled piece of paper. But before he could hand it over, something caught his eye. See, a few months back, Harry was inspired by Legally Blonde and impulsively, bought a bunch of pink paper. In a large amount. Since neither Harry nor Niall found any practical use for loose paper, they had been using pink paper to make the grocery list. Hence, when Harry pulled out a small piece of white paper, he was confused. He handed off the list to Niall but smiled at the other paper, which he was pretty sure, wasn’t in his pocket earlier.

“Thank you for being quick,” Niall chirped, oblivious to Harry’s confusion and skipped away to the kitchen muttering to himself. “For lunch, I think I will make us some...”

Harry carefully and curiously unfolded the piece of paper. He loudly gasped when he found an unfamiliar, untidy scrawl over it. This, Niall noticed and popped his head out.

“What’s that about?”

“It’s just...” Harry trailed off and shook his head. He showed the paper to Niall with bright eyes.

Niall’s eyes darted over the ten digits and name, before he let out a similar, but quieter, gasp. Then he chuckled heartily. “I’ll be the first to say I told you so. He slipped you his number which clearly means, he likes you, weirdness and all. I told you so.”

Harry laughed, unable to hold it back. He was just too happy. “He does. I didn’t even notice when he slipped this into my pocket. There’s even a smiley on this. It’s just adorable.”

He kept staring at the paper reverently, deciding that his found Louis’ handwriting cute. If that was even a thing. He read the digits over and over until he was sure he could recite them in sleep. Well, not literally, but the sentiment still remained. Harry didn’t know how to respond to it – whether he should reply instantaneously or painfully wait. He glanced to ask Niall the question only to see that the lad had disappeared. He frowned and looked at the paper, knowing it was a bad decision. But Harry was nothing if not impulsive.

Harry dug out his phone from his jeans and instantly put the number in his contacts. He added an avocado emoji after Louis’ name in the contact and smiled.

**H - So slipping your number into my pocket was a pretty smooth move. I didn’t even notice you do that.**

**H - This is Harry, by the way, in case you go around slipping numbers in people’s pockets. And I’m not implying that you’re**

**H - Shit. Sent that by mistake. I hope I don’t come as desperate and weird for texting this quickly but. I couldn’t wait...**

“Harry, are you texting someone?” Niall’s voice boomed and Harry squeaked instinctively. He looked up to see his friend frowning back, head tilted to the side. Something in Harry’s expression might have given him away because the next second, Niall was rushing towards him to snatch his phone out of his hands. Ignoring Harry’s weak protests, his eyes darted over the screen before he groaned. “Honestly, Harry? It’s like you want to turn every interaction into a disaster. You shouldn’t text someone you like that quick and carelessly. It’s dating 101. Not even an hour has passed since you met him. One would think you’ve never had a boyfriend in your life and this is... oh nevermind. Forget I said anything.”

Niall tossed Harry his phone back after one look at the screen, walking away muttering about ‘you two deserve each other’. Harry frowned at his friend’s back, confused by the abrupt end of his speech.

“What do you mean?” he asked only to go unanswered. He checked his phone as well, only to find a text waiting. From Louis! “He texted me back!”

“Yes, read it and rejoice,” Niall murmured before disappearing into... somewhere. Harry wasn’t watching where his friend exactly went. He was busy smiling at the received text while unable to believe his luck, which for once, was in his favour.

 _L - Oh thank god you were impressed and not put off. I was worried that_ I _was the one who came off as desperate by slipping my number into your pocket. Was anxious the whole walk home until you texted me. I’m glad you text quick because according to my roommate, I was very close to getting ‘anxiety sweats’._

_L - You know what, maybe, I’m not so smooth after all._

Harry replied quickly and without overthinking it. Much.

**H - Whoever wants to be smooth when we can just be awkward together?**

**H - And by that cryptic statement, I’m wondering if you would like to go to dinner with me? Wednesday?**

_L - Most definitely :)_

_L - Oh and my roommate wants to know why I’m grinning at my phone and I’m about to lie through my teeth. Wish me luck!_

The sound Harry let out – a cross between a squeal and a giggle – was most definitely embarrassing. But Niall was once again, not around to witness it. Besides, Harry was elated to have a date and didn’t know how else to react. So once more, he fell face first onto the couch to bury his smile.  

It was a roller coaster of a morning, yes, but Harry was glad for the way it ended.

**Author's Note:**

> Phew so there it is. Sorry for the cheesy end but then, am I? :)  
> Louis' song is coming out tomorrow so do stream and promote! I'm very excited!  
> Kudos and comments are appreciated.  
> I'm on [ twitter ](https://twitter.com/rainbowslovehl) come and say hi (oops)  
> Rebloggable tumblr post is [ here ](http://rainbowsandlovehl.tumblr.com/post/183275358038/just-go-with-it-by-rainbowslovehl) so if you like, please reblog thank you.


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